The present invention relates to crystalline inorganic materials containing at least copper, chromium, aluminum, boron and oxygen. In particular, new compositions comprising material having a formula EQU Cu.sub.2-x Cr.sub.y Al.sub.6-y B.sub.4 O.sub.17 M.sub.m M'.sub.n
where M is a divalent metal, M' is a monovalent metal, m is a number in a range from 0 to 0.8, n is a number in a range from 0 to 1.6, X is a number in a range from 0 to 0.8 and is equal to the sum of m and n/2, and y is a number in a range from 0.01 to 3, having a characteristic X-ray diffraction pattern are described as well as the use of such materials in various catalyzed processes including dehydrogenation of hydrocarbons and oxygen-containing hydrocarbons, and dehydrogenation to functionalize alkyl-aromatic compounds.
The use of active metallo elements and/or supported metallo element compositions containing aluminum and boron as a conversion catalyst is known in the art. U. S. Pat. No. 3,883,442 to McArthur is illustrative of prior art disclosing the superiority of a supported active metal catalyst to resist shrinkage at high temperatures (up to 1600.degree. C.) by stabilization of a preformed alumina catalyst support. McArthur states stabilization was achieved by impregnating an alumina support with a solution of a boron compound which is thermally decomposable to B.sub.2 O.sub.3, followed by drying and calcining of the impregnated support at temperatures below about 1500.degree. C., but sufficiently high to decompose the boron compound McArthur also discloses that the most commonly used technique of preparing a supported metallo element catalyst involved, following calcination, impregnating in conventional manner the alumina support material containing some retained B.sub.2 O.sub.3 with a solution of the desired metal salt, preferably those that are thermally decomposable to give the corresponding metal oxides and/or sulfides, and calcining the salt-impregnated support to convert the impregnated salt to the active catalytic form. McArthur neither discloses nor suggests any crystalline copper aluminum borate composition.
Zletz in U.S. Pat. No. 4,729,979, which is hereby incorporated by reference, discusses the characteristics of a good catalyst and/or catalyst support and a new crystalline copper aluminum borate characterized by a specific X-ray diffraction pattern, surface area and pore volume which is at least partially reducible with hydrogen at a temperature no more than 350.degree. C. to a composition containing zero valent copper and Al.sub.4 B.sub.2 O.sub.9. Satek in U.S. Pat. No. 4,590,324, which is hereby incorporated by reference, discusses using the new crystalline copper aluminum borate as a catalyst to dehydrogenate alkylaromatics to alkenylaromatics. Zletz et al. in U.S. Pat. No. 4,645,753, which is hereby incorporated by reference, discusses doping the new crystalline copper aluminum borate to contain an alkali metal or alkaline earth metal element for use as a catalyst to dehydrogenate alkylaromatics to alkenylaromatics. The Zletz, Satek, and Zletz et al. patents alone or in combination neither disclose nor suggest a mixed oxide composition of copper aluminum, boron, and chromium having a characteristic pattern of significant X-ray diffraction lines.
In particular, U.S. Pat. No. 4,729,979 discloses that attempts to obtain a crystalline copper aluminum borate in which a part of the aluminum would be replaced with an additional element, including chromium, were made in preparations of copper aluminum borate in which a part of the aluminum component can be replaced with trivalent metal salts including chromic acetate, ferrous or ferric acetate, etc. The patent states; "however, chromium forms a chromite and appears not replace aluminum" (U.S Pat. No. 4,729,979, column 6, lines 39 and 40). This teaching not withstanding, the present invention is directed to copper chromium aluminum borates, i.e. particular new crystalline copper aluminum borates in which a portion of the aluminum is advantageously replaced with chromium
The general object of the present invention is to provide new crystalline materials having chemical and physical characteristics that make them useful catalytically. Another general object of this invention is to produce a new solid material which is useful in various catalyzed processes including dehydrogenation of hydrocarbons and oxygen-containing hydrocarbons, and alkylaromatic compounds, and in dealkylation of alkyaromatic compounds. Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent upon reading the following detailed description and appended claims.